Jul 26, 2014 6:30 AM

Gallery: The Hard-Core Fanatics Who Make Comic-Con So Great

Ben Rasmussen/WIRED
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__Isabella Romero, 7 (Supergirl), with Jonathan Romero, 3 months; Victor Romero__ Isabella on her ideal super power: "X-ray vision, because then I could see stuff that's in people's bodies—and fly."
Ben Rasmussen/WIRED
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__Dylan Kenyon (Waldo)__ On being Waldo: "I get to photobomb and nobody gets mad. Every picture I can, I'm flying in the background. Everybody's here to have a good time, and I have yet to get in trouble. They're just like, "Dude, that's awesome!" and they usually ask for a picture just of me."

Ben Rasmussen/WIRED
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__Andrea and David Alegria__ Andrea on the Alegria family tradition: "It's our fourth Comic-Con. The first time, it was my brother's birthday, and we thought, 'we need to go at least once, we live in Southern California, let's do it!' We got tickets for his birthday, and then we fell in love with the fun, and with the insanity. We thrive on the chaos."
Ben Rasmussen/WIRED
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__Noah Alegria, 16 (Leonardo) and Hudson Alegria, 10 (Donatello)__ Hudson's parents on why he loves SDCC: (Andrea) "He comes out to play the video games before they're out. He loves to be the first to play."

Ben Rasmussen/WIRED
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__Travis Alegria (Michaelangelo)__ I grew up with comic books. I gave them to Noah when he came of age—but really, none of us will buy a comic book while we're here. It's the celebrities and the madness that brings us to it. We're all pop-culture nuts, so we like all of it."
Ben Rasmussen/WIRED
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__Christoff Obst, 20__ On living in San Diego: "I've always had a love for comics —Batman's my favorite. \[When I lived\] on the East Coast, I'd heard of Comic-Con; then I moved out here and was like, sweet, I get to go here now!"

Ben Rasmussen/WIRED
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__Emily Echevarria, 18 (Pinky Pie)__ On cosplay: "I've never come to a convention without cosplaying before. I like the attention and people taking pictures! But it's also fun to be someone that you're usually not."
Ben Rasmussen/WIRED
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__Yoni Baker, 33 (Khal Drogo, Kinda)__ On half-accurate cosplay: "It's sort of Khal Drogo-ish. It's a Middle Eastern riding costume, which really fits that character, and then I have a beard, so I sort of went with that."

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